Antifreeze apparatuses for compressed air systems, particularly used on vehicles



April 14-, 1964 5 1 3,129,267

ANTIFREEZE APPARATUSES FOR COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY USED ON VEHICLES Filed Jan. 18, 1961 United States Patent 3,129,267 ANTIFREEZE APPARATUSES FOR COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY USED ON VEHICLES Giuseppe Alfieri, Milan, Italy, assignor to Fabbrica Italiana Magneti Marelli S.p.A., Milan, Italy, a corporation of Italy Filed Jan. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 83,586 Claims priority, application Italy Jan. 23, 1960 3 Claims. (Cl. 261-99) The present invention relates to compressed air systems useful in vehicles and the like and more particularly to antifreeze devices having the purpose of introducing variable quantities of alcohol into an air intake in such a manner that the resulting mixture of air and alcohol provides a low freezing point.

Apparatus of the present invention has the following advantages over those devices presently in use:

(a) While employing a cloth tissue soaked in alcohol, it prevents the same from curling up, folding, or assuming irregular shape;

(21) it protects regulating units from vibration;

(c) it permits the immediate checking of the amount of alcohol existing in the container, as well as allowing the checking of the condition of the cloth in the alcohol;

(d) it is adapted for easy and rapid maintenance, and does not require any tool to insert or empty alcohol into or from its container;

(6) it is of extremely simple and economical construction.

To achieve the above advantages, apparatus of the invention comprises an alcohol container communicating with a vaporizing chamber equipped with connections to the outside air and the compressor, and at least one vertical support to contain a soak cloth or wick, the lower part of which floats in the alcohol of said container, the upper portion of which is arranged to be exposed to air traversing a vaporization chamber. The apparatus is characterized by the fact that the vertical support is furnished with at least one protective cover suitably pierced and encircling the upper part of the cloth or wick. Said protective cover can be made of a tube adapted for con taining the cloth or wick. The tube is open at its bottom and is slitted at its top and is supported for sliding in air tight manner through a separating wall between the vaporization chamber and the alcohol container. The tube is connected to a control rod protruding outside of said chamber via an air tight seal, and sliding and blocking devices.

Openings in the upper part of the tube can be made in the form of multiple slits through which, during mixing phases, the air comes into contact with the cloth soaked in alcohol, said slits being located in the upper part of the tube for a distance corresponding at least to the working height of the evaporation chamber and being such that, in the most extreme positions assumed by the tube during the regulation steps, said part of the tube is completely on the inside or outside of said chamber The cloth can be contained completely within the tube or protrude from the bottom of the tube so as to come into free contact with the alcohol in the container.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial cross-section of an antifreeze device provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a detail of the apparatus of FIG. 1 on enlarged scale.

Said antifreezer comprises a body 1 incorporating a 3,129,257 Patented Apr. 14, 1964 delivery pipe 2, the open extremities A and B of which are equipped with means for connection on one side to an air inlet filter (not shown) and at the other side to a compressor (not shown). Body 1 also incorporates a flange plate 3 from which depends an alcohol container consisting of a cup 4 of transparent material such as a plastic. Said cup is fixed to the flange plate 3 by means of a wire spring 5 made of a stirrup and the extremities of the arms of which are engaged in seats, not visible in the drawing, located in the edges of said plate.

In its lower extremity spring 5 is furnished at its bottom with one or more spirals 6 having their axes normal to the plane containing the arms, the side legs being provided with several reverse bends to provide resiliency. When the spring has been mounted, the spirals press against the container. The container has a seat 7 containing a seal packing 8 which is in contact with plate 3.

Said plate is provided with a hole 9 in which, by means of a packing 21, the tube 10 is slidingly supported in sealed relation. The tube is connected to push rod 11 which is operated by handle 12.

Tube 10 is filled with cloth or wick 13 which protrudes at the lower end of the tube to come into direct contact with the alcohol 14. The tube 10 is provided at the upper end thereof with vertical slits 15, through which air comes into contact with the cloth impregnated with alcohol.

Rod 11 is connected to the tube by means of a disc 16 mounted on the tube.

A hand knob 17, threadably fitted on extension 18 of body 1, permits the holding or releasing of rod 11 by means of a block 19 and rubber washer 20 immediately below the block. The block surrounds rod 11.

The position shown in the drawing is the position for which no alcohol vapor is dispersed into the air flowing through the delivery pipe 2 inasmuch as the'air, during its passage from A to B, does not come into contact with that part of tube 10 containing the slits 15.

During maximum evaporation conditions, hand knob 12 is moved into position 12' and said part of tube 15 is completely exposed to air flow.

Intermediate positions of rod 11 permit obtaining various degrees of evaporation between maximum and minimum values.

The mobile elements 10 and 11, it will be noted, are protected against vibration by means of rubber devices such as ring 20 and packing 21.

The external container 4 is made of plastic or transparent material to allow visual inspection of the level of the antifreeze liquid.

It will be understood that other embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the slits 15 in the tube 10 can be drawn into the passage 2 to a varying extent. This permits a controlling of the amount of alcohol which is evaporated into said passage and thus provides for regulation.

In addition, it will be noted that the rod 11 extends through the rubber washer 20, which is positioned at least in part between the body 1 and the rod 11. Moreover, it will be noted as has been stated above, that the element 19 threadably engages within the extension 18 and can be so adjusted through the intermediary of the handle 17, to provide compressing the rubber washer against the rod 11, so as to lock or hold the rod 11 in fixed position.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, many modifictions and variations of the structure set forth above. These modifications and variations will not depart from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for introducing an antifreeze fluid into a gaseous medium, said apparatus comprising a body provided with a passage for said medium and including a flange beneath said passage, a container abutting said flange and defining with said body a chamber for said fluid, said body being provided with an opening coupling said chamber and passage, a tube extending through the open ing into said chamber, means in said opening resiliently and slidably supporting the tube on said body in sealed relation therewith, a wick fixed in the tube for absorbing fluid in said chamber, said tube being provided with slits adjacent and below said opening, a rod coaxial with and connected to said tube, said rod extending through said passage and body, supporting means slidably supporting the rod in the body whereby to enable the drawing of the tube and the slits therein into said passage, said supporting means including a rubber-like washer between said body and rod above said passage, said rod being normally slidable through said washer and means threadably engaged in said body and adapted to compress the washer against said rod to hold the latter in position whereby said slits can be fixed relative to said passage with said wick in said chamber, and a spring clip means locking said container to said flange.

(l 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the slits are axially aligned in said tube.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the slits are of a length at least equal to the corresponding transverse dimension of said passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,375 Boynton Oct. 16, 1866 983,469 Xavier et al. Feb. 7, 1911 1,574,336 Blydenburgh Feb. 23, 1926 1,738,249 Jordahl Dec. 3, 1929 1,778,138 Wood Oct. 14, 1930 2,170,074 Hewitt Aug. 22, 1939 2,172,882 Watkins Sept. 12, 1939 2,438,658 Fitch Mar. 30, 1948 2,561,648 Bradley July 24, 1951 2,567,036 Shannon Sept. 4, 1951 2,828,772 Landis Apr. 1, 1958 2,857,983 Shada Oct. 28, 1958 2,878,895 Wiley Mar. 24, 1959 2,893,625 Gresko July 7, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,417/31 Australia June 3, 1932 122,529 Sweden Aug. 31, 1948 

1. APPARATUS FOR INTRODUCING AN ANTIFREEZE FLUID INTO A GASEOUS MEDIUM, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A BODY PROVIDED WITH A PASSAGE FOR SAID MEDIUM AND INCLUDING A FLANGE BENEATH SAID PASSAGE, A CONTAINER ABUTTING SAID FLANGE AND DEFINING WITH SAID BODY A CHAMBER FOR SAID FLUID, SAID BODY BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING COUPLING SAID CHAMBER AND PASSAGE, A TUBE EXTENDING THROUGH THE OPENING INTO SAID CHAMBER, MEANS IN SAID OPENING RESILIENTLY AND SLIDABLY SUPPORTING THE TUBE ON SAID BODY IN SEALED RELATION THEREWITH, A WICK FIXED IN THE TUBE FOR ABSORBING FLUID IN SAID CHAMBER, SAID TUBE BEING PROVIDED WITH SLITS ADJACENT AND BELOW SAID OPENING, A ROD COAXIAL WITH AND CONNECTED TO SAID TUBE, SAID ROD EXTENDING THROUGH SAID PASSAGE AND BODY, SUPPORTING MEANS SLIDABLY SUPPORTING THE ROD IN THE BODY WHEREBY TO ENABLE THE DRAWING OF THE TUBE AND THE SLITS THEREIN INTO SAID PASSAGE, SAID SUPPORTING MEANS INCLUDING A RUBBER-LIKE WASHER BETWEEN SAID BODY AND ROD ABOVE SAID PASSAGE, SAID ROD BEING NORMALLY SLIDABLE THROUGH SAID WASHER AND MEANS THREADABLY ENGAGED IN SAID BODY AND ADAPTED TO COMPRESS THE WASHER AGAINST SAID ROD TO HOLD THE LATTER IN POSITION WHEREBY SAID SLITS CAN BE FIXED RELATIVE TO SAID PASSAGE WITH SAID WICK IN SAID CHAMBER, AND A SPRING CLIP MEANS LOCKING SAID CONTAINER TO SAID FLANGE. 